The Hunt
by sandydragon
Summary: Gaara is pursued on Hallowwen night. Pre Kazekage Rescue Arc


All was quiet in Suna late Halloween night. It was far too late for trick-or-treating. With the full moon high in the sky, most of the villagers had long since gone to bed. But not Gaara. Though his control of Shukaku had greatly improved, the young kazekage still couldn't sleep.

Years ago his nights had been filled with hours of demonic screaming. Now Gaara had finally subdued Shukaku's bloodlust to the point where the two could simply enjoy the cool nights of the desert together. Gaara was free to let the gentle breeze ruffle his hair as he observed the nightly trek of the stars through the sky while Shukaku was content to bask in the glow of the moon, albeit through his host's body.

The demon and his host occasionally exchanged a few words about the tranquility of the night, but they typically preferred to let each other enjoy their nightly peace in relative silence. Sure there were still sounds that disturbed the serenity of the night, but they seemed subdued in comparison to the average bustling around the village by the time dawn arrived. Or at least, it seemed that way at first.

The noises started innocently enough. Whispers that were soft enough to be mistaken for the wind and the quiet rustling of the sand were hardly noticeable. Even Shukaku began to feel unnerved as the noises persisted though. Just as Gaara prepared to have his sand uncover the source of the disturbing sounds, dozens of figures jumped out from their hiding places and quickly began advancing on Gaara. Rather that facing his pursuers head on, Gaara, the seemingly fearless kazekage, ran for his life.

The illusion of tranquility was shattered as the sounds of dozens of feet slamming into the sand combined with the labored breathing of several individuals. Gaara ran as fast as his thin legs could carry him as Shukaku screeched for him to speed up, but the mass of stealthy figures still kept pace with him. It was then that Gaara heard the most dreaded noise in the entire village.

In perfect unison, the kazekage's pursuers all let loose long, shrill screams. It doubtless woke up most of the rest of the village, but nobody was foolish enough to interfere. When the hunters sounded their victory cry, nobody who valued their life would dare to help their prey. As the mass of bodies steadily gained on him, Gaara made one last desperate sprint for the safety of his mansion.

Gasping for breath, Gaara bolted through the door, slammed it shut, locked it, and blocked it with his sand. As Kankuro dashed from his room to help blockade the door, an almost godlike force slammed into the door. Multiple cracks snaked through the wall and the door groaned in protest, but the mob was held back. Without Temari home to help them, the two brothers prayed for the door to hold out. They sighed with relief when the banging stopped but were terrified once more as a persistent scraping noise penetrated the mansion.

By the time Gaara and Kankuro reached the upstairs window, about seven of the animalistic people were only minutes away from breaking in. The panicked boys shared a brief argument before a decision was reached.

With one quick movement, Kankuro tore Gaara's shirt off. Hoping it wasn't too late to appease the lunatics, he hurled the sweat soaked shirt out the window. In a split second, every single one of the insane girls flung themselves at the shirt. Screams could be heard as the maniacs clawed and tackled each other for a chance to make of with the now very tattered prize.

After much hair ripping and furious screeching, one young blond girl broke away from the mob with the shirt clutched tightly to her chest. After arrogantly taking the time to blow Gaara a kiss, the girl rapidly left the scene as the rest of the girls chased her. The ground around the mansion seemed to shake as the throng of wild fangirls stormed off after their new target. As soon as the sounds of the mob faded away into the night once again, Gaara and Kankuro collapsed with both relief and exhaustion. Even though his heart was still about ready to pound through his chest, Kankuro still managed to taunt his younger brother. "I still don't get why you don't just date one of those girls. That crazy blond girl sure as heck won't stop following you no matter how many years you keep this up. Even if she doesn't suit you, you have a whole harem of hot ladies to choose from!"

With a grimace, Gaara dragged himself over to his closet to get a fresh shirt. No need to provoke those girls more by showing his bare chest out the window. "That's the twentieth shirt this month. A lunatic like that girl would probably manage to snap my spine considering her enthusiasm. I can see why Sasuke left Konoha. As much as I hated people running from me, running from girls is almost even more stressful." To himself he whispered, "I'd probably never be able to get her to stay calm through the whole wedding anyway." Apparently he hadn't whispered quietly enough since Kankuro was laughing too hard for him to breath moments later.


End file.
